Conceal the truth
by si13ntm0n5t3r
Summary: Read and find out! XD
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: English is not my mother tongue, so I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes. (Feels like I set too many commas. Hahaha)**

 **This idea has been flowing around in my mind for a few days now, and I just had to write this.**

 **All the scientific stuff I wrote in this fic, I just made it up. Let's just pretend I'm smart XD**

 **xxXxx**

 _"You are tougher than I've anticipated. But that, I guess, was to be expected. So I thought…" The man pulled out a remote from his pocket. "…you might need a little more motivating." He turned his attention to the screen on the wall, the only source of light in the dark cell. His expression darkened when he said, "You don't talk, your sister suffers the consequences."_

 _"No, don't!" Alex struggled against the chains, the metal cutting into her skin._

 _"Leave her alone!"_

 _Her screams were futile, as she heard Kara's cries, racked with pain. Alex looked at the screen helplessly, as her sister lay strapped to a metal table, getting electrocuted. "Stop it!" Alex pulled on her restrains in vain._

 _"Tell me what I want to know."_

 _"Go to hell!" Alex spat, her eyes gleaming with utter contempt._

 _The man laughed amused. "Oh well, it's only a matter of time. And we have plenty."_

 _Again, Kara's screams filled the room and Alex was forced to watch as her sister cried in agony._

 _"NO!"_

—

"No!" Alex's eyes shot open, when she abruptly woke from her nightmare. A layer of sweat had settled on her forehead and her breaths came rapidly, trying to provide her lungs with the needed oxygen. However, her organs which were responsible for breathing didn't seem to function properly, as she felt like her oxygen level was not being saturated. 'Breathe.' Alex forced her heart beat to slow down, taking deep and steady breaths in the process. Only when she had finally calmed down, she noticed the familiar machines, the familiar surrounding of her lab.

Alex straightened her back and rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. She needed to continue, needed to work. She needed to help her sister.

"Alex, what happened?" J'onn cut into her thoughts, when he walked into her lab. He had had to control himself not to run, when he had heard Alex shout in her mind, even with his telepathic abilities not actively in use.

"Nothing, just had a…" Alex stopped herself from telling him any further of her nightmare. She was hoping that he was not reading her mind - that would mean breaking their agreement - but also especially because she didn't want J'onn to think that she wasn't ready to work yet. She had been cleared by the doc with three broken ribs, a stitched side, a minor concussion, a reset shoulder, bruised wrists and a bruised face. All her injuries have been tended to and with an agreement that someone was to keep a close eye on her, she was allowed to at least work in her lab if she wasn't overworking herself or doing any physical labor. Emotionally though, she wasn't as fine as she wanted to be. Yet, she had convinced J'onn to have a psychological evaluation after the certainty that Kara would be fine.

"It's just….this is taking forever and I'm getting nowhere!" Alex gestured to her laptop, which was running different sequences of electrical brain stimulation on a Kryptonian brain. Frustrated, Alex ran her free hand through her hair.

"Alex," J'onn began. "You need some rest, get some sleep."

"No! I…" Alex shot up from her chair. "I-I have to do something, anything."

J'onn looked at the woman, he considered his own daughter. She looked as desperate as she was determined. "Alex, you haven't slept in what…" Her boss looked at the clock on the wall to his right. "…28 hours? Look, you might be the best scientist we have here, but you're not the only one." In a few strides he was in front of Alex, facing her with a concerned look. His right hand rested on her uninjured shoulder. "You need to rest, Alex. Go home, take a shower, eat something. I've called your mother. She's on her way."

At that, Alex's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten. Taking a deep breath, she berated herself inwardly for forgetting such a simple task as to phone her mother.

"Go home Alex. It's not a request. You heard the doc. No overworking." J'onn hadn't wanted to use the this-is-an-order-tone, but he deemed it necessary whenever it came to Alex and her stubbornness.

Combing through her hair, Alex sighed and let her shoulders slump, her posture revealing tiredness and defeat. "Okay," Alex agreed, but not before proposing a compromise. "But I'm not going home. We have a shower room here and I have spare clothes in my locker."

Why wasn't J'onn surprised? Though not entirely satisfied, he found it was enough for Alex Danvers; persistence ran in the family. Moreover he understood her need to be near her sister. "Okay, I'll have someone prep a bed for you, next to Kara." J'onn looked one last time at her and patted her shoulder in comfort, indicating that he would be there for her if she needed anything, anything at all.

"Thank you," Alex said gratefully, as her boss left her alone with her thoughts. She knew that J'onn was not at all trying to hinder her work, he was just showing his concern, even though from her view she didn't deserve any. The guilt was pulling like a threat on her conscience, and she tried to shake that crushing feeling aside. Although not really succeeding, Alex heard the words that had plagued her mind since the incident. This is your fault. Yes, it was her fault. She had failed her sister.

—

"Kara!" Eliza cried, coming through the door.

Alex immediately shot up from the chair in surprise, but regretted it the minute her ribs complained in pain. "Mom!" Alex straightened up.

Eliza's eyes moved from the blonde figure on the bed to her eldest daughter. In a few strides she had her clasped in her arms. "Oh god, Alex you're okay. You _are_ okay, right?" Eliza leaned back from the embrace and took a good look at her. "Oh Alex…" She raised her hand and it trailed down Alex's bruised face. Eliza saw that, her daughter's arm was held in place with a sling and her wrists were bandaged.

"Mom, It's okay," she said under shallow breaths.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Her mother asked in dismay.

"I'm fine." Alex responded, hoping her voice didn't sound strained.

"Alex what- what happened?" Her mother demanded and Alex gulped. In a way she dreaded to tell her mother what happened, even if her and J'onn had talked about letting her mother know only so much as she needed to know. Better spare her the news of what horror had befallen both her daughters.

"I'm sorry. You know I can't tell you the details. But stuff happened and I can only tell you this much: For some reason Kara isn't waiting up. She suffered some brain damage, to what extend we don't know yet. Concerning her injuries, once we know she's stable we will put her under the sun bed." Alex turned to Kara and looked down at her small frame. She had a few wires attached to her head and chest. One hand was in a cast and secured with a sling.

Eliza's eyes now hovered over her youngest daughter, studying her unmoving body. The only sign of life was her chest that rose and fell and the quiet steady beeping from the machine next to the bed. She was sure that under the hospital gown she had more injuries, if only minor ones. "And, what about your injuries?" She asked Alex, knowing that she had to ask, to make Alex talk about herself. "Don't say I'm fine. You always say that."

"I'm….my injuries have been tended to. They're only minor." Alex lowered her head and her eyes focused on a spot on the ground, when her body began to tremble slightly. _'Pull yourself together,'_ she thought to herself. Alex cleared her throat and looked up again, pushing an uncomfortable feeling aside. "Mom," she started, waiting for the familiar words to fill the quiet room. _This is your fault._

"This is not your fault." Eliza said firmly.

For a second Alex looked totally surprised. "You don't know what-"

"But I know you," her mother cut in. Eliza had always come down harder on her eldest daughter, and she had raised her to be a responsible woman. Eliza might not have known the full story, but she knew her daughter and she knew that Alex would never do anything to endanger her sister, nor would she ever purposely hurt her. Alex would protect her, even at the cost of her own life. "Alexandra, honey, I don't blame you. Kara wouldn't blame you, so don't blame yourself."

 _'You don't know me.'_ The words rang in Alex's mind, as she denied every attempt of her mother to lessen her guilt-ridden conscience. When she felt her mother approach her with open arms, she shied away, immediately mumbling, "I'm sorry. I have to go, work on something to bring Kara back. If you wanna lie down, use the bed." Alex gestured to the unused bed and turned away, wanting to escape her mother's observing eyes. As she left the sickbay, Alex breathed out and muffled a cry that was about to slip past her lips.

 **xxXxx**

 **So this is the first chapter. There's definitely going to be a second chapter coming. Please leave a review? O.o THANKS FOR READING!**

 **si1entm0n5t3r**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: English is not my mother tongue, so I apologize for any grammar and spelling mistakes.**

 **Hi, guys! Thanks for the kind guest reviews and the follows/favorites.**

 **I wasn't really sure what to write at the beginning, since I already had written the lower part of this last week, but I needed something to begin this chapter and this is what I came up with…kinda.**

 **xxXxx**

"Is it working?" J'onn asked, watching as Kara's body convulsed and lifted off the bed every time Alex pushed the button on the machine. Since Kara had been electrocuted several times, Alex thought, that maybe they could stimulate Kara's brain through electrocution as well. But unlike the harsh torture Kara had went through, this treatment required precise electrical power and frequency. The slight electrical currents would stimulate Kara's Kryptonian body to repair itself.

"I'm not really sure." Alex said, checking Kara's vitals. "I'm going to have to run a few tests again and see if it worked." She turned to the door, about to leave when her mother suddenly exclaimed, "Kara?!" Eliza gripped Kara's hand, expectantly. She believed she had heard a moan coming from her younger daughter.

In an instant Alex was at Kara's side, observing very closely for any movement she might make.

Looking up to the machines, she noticed the slight elevated heart rate. "Kara, can you hear me?"

She tried asking and to her surprise, the Kryptonian responded with a moan.

Kara could hear a voice, that sounded very much like her sister. Her body felt heavy, even her eye lids. Nevertheless, she sent a command to her brain to open her eyes. Very slowly the sight of a relieved Alex and a concerned Eliza filled her vision. A little at the back there was J'onn, standing there with his usual stern expression, thought with a light touch of a smile at the corner of his lips.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asked.

"Some-" ,Kara cleared her throat, "-somehow drained and my throat hurts. Wh-what hap-pened?" she managed to choke out.

"Oh Kara you're okay!" Eliza couldn't hold herself back any longer and had her younger daughter entangled in a hug, before offering her something to drink. "Here sweetheart, drink." Eliza handed her a glass of water.

"Take it easy." Alex helped Kara sit up, as she removed the wires.

While Kara took small sips of water, Alex started to explain, "There was an explosion at a facility and we all got caught in the shockwave, you got most of it though." Alex gestured to Kara's left arm that was in a cast.

The blonde looked down at her arm and her confused expression changed, recalling the event. But then she frowned at the thought of why she got injured in the first place. She was a Kryptonian. Her bones shouldn't break so easily.

Already knowing her next question, Alex said, "One of the scientist who worked there, successfully created green Kryptonite and when the facility went up in flames, you got exposed. We don't know why he was working on creating green Kryptonite, but don't worry, he's not your concern anymore."

"Do you remember what happened after that?" The brunette then asked cautiously. Her heart pounded in her chest, every second her sister stayed silent, trying to remember.

"No-I…" Kara's hand went to her throat massaging it. "I-I don't remember."

Alex let out a breath, she had unconsciously sucked in. She exchanged a glance with J'onn and his expression told her to leave it at that. Not letting her surprise and uncertainty show, Alex said, "Well, you must have hit your head pretty hard, because you suffered some brain damage, but we kinda brought you back and it's not really that bad if you can't remember what happened after the explosion. You were pretty out of it anyway, but we still have to run some few tests and put you under the sun bed." Alex spoke cautiously, trying to sound as normal as possible. She caught her mother's thoughtful expression and added, "While we put the priority to monitoring your brain and finding a solution first, we couldn't put you under the sun bed right away, so the fact that you're still injured is because, your self-healing abilities have decelerated due to the damage done to your brain."

Kara had a frown on her face, totally failing to let the information sink in and she opened her mouth to ask, "Wait, how long have I been out?!"

"Two days." J'onn said from the foot of the bed.

"TWO DAYS?!" Kara's eyes were wide in shock.

"You do know, that it could have taken a little longer to bring you back." Alex said.

"Bu-but what about work?!" Kara exclaimed. She knew it. Yep, Cat was most likely going to fire her.

She was going to lose her job, then she would have to find a new one, but what if she couldn't find a new job, then she would have no job at all, and then she wouldn't be able to pay for rent and…

"Relax," Alex said, cutting into her thoughts. "We already covered for you, or rather J'onn did."

"Oh." Kara didn't really know if it was a good thing, but at least she still had a job, if J'onn hadn't already exploded in Cat's face. She turned to J'onn and smiled wearily. "Thanks, I guess. But I have to ask, do I still have a job?" She had to make sure.

J'onn smiled, hearing the question. "If I can handle two Daverses, I can handle Cat Grand."

He turned to Eliza and added for her to hear, "And your daughters are tough."

The oldest Danvers smiled at that, gently squeezing Kara's hand. Looking at both her daughters she said, "Yes, I'm proud to have two brave and strong girls."

At that, Alex grimaced and clenched her hand.

—

Alex plopped down on her king-sized bed and buried her head in her pillow. She felt emotionally and physically exhausted, like she had been drained of all energy. Being awake for god knows how long had been tiring, but it had paid out, since Kara was back and with a little time under the sun bed she would recover just fine, her lost memories aside.

Alex hadn't told her the whole truth for one sole reason, and that was to spare Kara the pain of remembering what happened after the incident at the facility. She didn't want the Kryptonian to know that she had been tortured and thrown into a nightmare she wouldn't even wish for her worst enemy to experience.

Alex closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, but only so much until her stitches tugged on her side and her ribs slightly complained in pain. It was back. Hidden under all the exhaustion and soreness, the feeling that had gripped her so tightly, it just didn't seem to want to let go. She hadn't forgotten about it, but rather pushed it aside and shoved it down all the way. Yet, the guilt kept resurfacing, becoming apparent in a self destructive manner.

"It's your fault." A voice cut into her thoughts, coming from a dark corner in Alex's room.

In an instance, Alex's adrenaline level spiked. She grabbed her weapon on the night stand and shot up from her position, pointing her gun at the intruder, that sounded very much like Vander Fleming. Alex waited for a tranquilizer to pierce her skin, for a taser to connect with her body, but the awaited surprise attack never came. Instead she was left, looking at an empty corner, her eyes frantically searching for the danger. Though after a while of reassuring herself, that there was no monster lurking under the cover of darkness, her trembling arm sank onto her lap and she put her weapon away. Her heart beat fast and her hand came to her chest. It trailed down a deep red thin line, that started to scar right above her heart. Yes, it would be constant reminder of what had occurred not too long ago.

—

 _The knife cut into her skin, leaving a bloody line with a hook on each end._

 _"This," the man pressed on her wound with one finger, causing Alex to hiss through clenched teeth, "is what you're trying to protect, yes?" It was more a statement than a question. Vander Fleming maneuvered himself behind Alex and leaned forward to whisper into her ear. "It's a shame that it will remind you every day, every minute, every second, that you failed."_

 _Alex's heart sank even further down the spiral of guilt and shame, her head hang down. Her ribs hurt like hell, her wrists burned, rubbed raw, her pulse pounded loudly in her ears, aggravating the pain with each heartbeat. But the pain she felt, was nothing compared to Kara's. Over and over she had to experience the nightmare she has escaped years ago. And now her scars were being ripped open by a monster, that took pleasure in watching her suffer._

 _"I know you, agent Danvers." Fleming began, circling the chair Alex was sitting in. "I know you better than you think. I know that you are not innocent. You're looking at me with disgust and hatred, but let's be honest. Even you have blood on your hands. I believe his name as Morrow; the man you killed."_

 _The dark figure bend down until he was at Alex's eye level. "You are as much of a monster than I am."_

 **xxXxx**

 **Hope the next chapter is up next week, or the week after next. THANKS FOR READING! Please leave a review?**


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